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In the final of a three-part Laundry Ledger series, co-authors look at which waste vendors to use, how to manage DEA controlled substances safely and in compliance, and how to protect employees from harm and the organization from OSHA violations.
The series recaps a recent webinar, "Managing Pharmaceutical Waste: What Healthcare Laundry Facilities Need to Know," sponsored by the Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council (HLAC) and the American Reusable Textile Association (ARTA). The series is co-authored by webinar presenters Charlotte A. Smith, RPh., MS, Senior Regulatory Advisor, PharmEcology services for WM Sustainability Services, Houston, TX; and Gregory Gicewicz, past president of HLAC and owner/operator of the healthcare laundry Sterile Surgical Systems, Tumwater, WA.
The third article looks at which waste vendors a laundry should use for each waste stream and notes that pharmaceutical waste is very different from typical industrial hazardous waste streams - "choose a vendor with experience.... Require them to provide the EPA ID numbers for their company and the names, addresses, and EP ID numbers of all companies handling the waste including the final incineration firm."
Regarding DEA-controlled substances, the authors write that it's extremely important that the laundry have a program to identify and properly manage these drugs, "both for your employees' protection and your business liability." Included is information on how to identify a controlled substance, how to manage controlled substance wastage, device disposal, and documentation needed.
The authors conclude their series noting that "among the more than 600 standards found in the HLAC Accreditation Standards document are two requirements that focus on the need for the laundry to have policies, procedures and a course of action regarding the handling of pharmaceutical waste. But policies and procedures alone are meaningless without a proper understanding of the many different aspects involved in the management of these wastes....The laundry has to know what it is doing in all ... interrelated areas or risk failing HLAC inspection. In fact, failure in any of these areas could add up to failing as many as 20 HLAC standards."
The full presentation (available as a PDF) can be found at HLAC's website, www.hlacnet.org,or here. The link to the Laundry Ledger article is also available at HLAC's LinkedIn page.
"Having access to these articles should prove helpful to those laundries wanting to ensure their processes are current and follow accepted, best-practice guidelines," said John Scherberger, HLAC board president.
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